How to Manage Hair in Tropical Climates

You take a long, luxurious shower. You get out, and you painstakingly style your hair. Giving yourself one last look in the mirror, you flip your blown-out locks over your shoulder.

Your hair is smooth, bouncy and shiny. Then, you grab your purse and step outside. By the time you glance at your reflection again, your hair has been transformed into an untamable, frizzy mess.

Pfft!

What Is Frizz?

Unless you have been magically gifted with sleek hair that’s unresponsive to humidity, you have probably experienced frizz caused by a steamy, tropical atmosphere. Women with curly hair understand this all too well. However, people with straight hair can get frizz too.

Hydrogen is partly responsible for bonding the proteins in the hair shaft together. Every time your hair gets wet and dries, the weak bond is broken and reestablished. Humid air has more hydrogen molecules, which makes your porous hair strands absorb more moisture – creating more hydrogen bonds. This causes the molecules in your hair to fold, creating waves, curls and frizz.

As the moisture enters the hair shaft, each strand swells, pushing on the outer layer. Called the cuticle, this layer looks like a series of scales. When the hair shaft is swollen, the scales stick out, creating a rough, frizzy appearance.

What Can You Do To Fight Frizz?

You can’t change the weather. However, you can take steps to make your hair healthier so that it is more resistant to moisture and humidity.

Be gentle with your hair. If you rough it up with a towel, you’ll raise the cuticle. Your hair will absorb more moisture and look frizzier when it dries.

When you use a hair dryer, aim the air down the hair shaft to help the cuticle lie flat. If you shoot air upward, you’ll leave the cuticle more open, which will allow more humidity to enter.

Use natural oils to seal the hair shaft. Your scalp creates oils to help keep your hair healthy. However, many hair products and processes strip those oils from the hair shaft. This leaves your hair more susceptible to humidity and damage. You can apply a natural oil to your hair while it’s still damp.

Use The Right Product

Using products that help your hair retain its natural oils can also help tame frizz in humid environments. Introducing WEN Cleansing Conditioner, a one-step product that you can use in the shower to keep your hair shiny and manageable. It doesn’t contain sulfates. Therefore, it won’t strip your hair of its natural oils.

The ingredients in the WEN Cleansing Conditioner are inherently moisturizing. They’ll help seal your cuticle without the need to use additional products.

If you live in a tropical environment or are heading to one for vacation, WEN by Chaz is the your tropical haircare savior. It works as a shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and moisturizer. You don’t have to lug several hair products with you if you’re traveling. If you live in a humid environment, you don’t have to fill up your bathroom with bulky bottles. This one product will help create healthy hair that naturally fights frizz.

Do you have any other tips and tricks on how we can fight frizzy hair in our tropical climate? Share with me by commenting below!